Cutting how many reps

I am going to assume that you want to maintain your muscle mass and strength while stripping away fat. Well, it is very, very likely that he would lose a ton of strength in the process. Working your muscles out with comparatively tiny amounts of weight to what you were lifting before — you know, those heavy weights that actually made you stronger and allowed you to put on muscle in the first place.

Instead, if you put your muscles through these endurance-based, lactic acid burning workouts, then they will respond by losing strength and muscle size.

And so the vicious cycle of frustration continues…endlessly oscillating between periods of gaining fat and gaining muscle, and then losing fat and losing muscle.

Well, the first thing you need to realize is that when you want to cut fat, it is going to be a primarily diet-driven process. Sure, you can add in some more cardio preferably HIIT , but that is about it as far as changes to your workouts go.

One of the biggest misconceptions in the training world is that as soon as you start cutting you should automatically decrease the weight you lift and increase the reps. This is arguably one of the most flawed pieces of advice you can follow when cutting and is something that could lead to muscle deterioration rather than muscle retention.

More reps are beneficial when training to fatigue the more stubborn slow-twitch muscle fibers of a muscle. These muscle fibers have less growth potential than the explosive fast-twitch muscle fibers which is partly the reason why sprinters carry significantly more muscle mass than long-distance marathon runners.

What higher reps will not do, is burn more calories or tone a muscle when cutting. Regardless of opinion, you should not do more reps when cutting but still to a more balanced rep scheme incorporating some strength work 3 — 5 sets x 3 — 5 reps , hypertrophy work 2 — 4 sets x 8 — 12 reps , and endurance work 3 — 5 sets x 12 — 25 reps.

Exercise 1 — Lying hamstring curl 4 sets x 10 reps Exercise 2 — Barbell back squat 5 sets x 5 reps Exercise 3 — Seated leg press 3 sets x 12 reps Exercise 4 — Romanian deadlift 3 sets x 10 reps Exercise 5 — Seated hamstring curl 3 sets x 15 reps Exercise 6 — Standing calf raise 3 sets x 15 reps. This routine could be no different than the one you used bulking and it will use challenging rep ranges that build muscle so during a cut have the function of retaining muscle instead. People who have less meals a day tend to over eat on those meals.

There is really only one minor issue for some people. Some like to have cardio and weights on the same day but not on leg days. Seeing as how every workout has legs in it this might be a slight issue.

But then again there aren't too many sets of legs and with enough rest time in between most people should be able to work cardio and weights on the same day. In terms of cutting the main drawback is obviously the lack of energy some might experience because of the addition of cardio and also the cutting down of calories. Also some like to cut carbohydrates and therefore have less energy. Lastly while cutting your not going to be putting on muscle. Because you are aiming for a deficit of calories and you need excess to gain muscle, your not going to be gaining any muscle until you bulk.

I usually cut for the summer because that is the time when the shirt comes off. Most people want to be cut for the summer so when they go to the beach they will have a ripped body.

There really is no point in trying to put on muscle in the summer and cutting in the winter That makes no sense really unless it is warm all year round where you live. I can lose fat easier so I usually start a couple months ahead to give myself enough time to get cut.

Just like most workouts, this workout is split into 3 days: Push, Pull, and Legs. This routine is best performed with a rep scheme of either 5 sets of 5 reps or 4 sets of 8 reps. When cutting, you ideally want to be doing abs consistently. I would recommend doing abs every other day or about 3 times per week for best results.

When training your abs, be sure to hit all areas including upper, middle, lower, and the obliques. This can be obtained by doing multiple exercises such as leg raises, crunches, sit ups on an air ball, jack knives, and planks.

A large part to successfully cutting is going to be burning calories at an efficient rate. Therefore it is suggested that you do not need to go as heavy as you generally do, but reduce the rest time between sets and exercises in order to keep your heart rate at an optimal fat burning level. Furthermore, the addition of cardio can make results come quicker.

High intensity interval training is probably the best form of cardio but can be very taxing and tiring, therefore it is still just as good to perform cardio at a lower intensity, but skipping cardio all together will result in a longer wait for maximum results. A cutting workout is usually designed to maximize the oxidation and burning of fat stores in ones body.

This basically means burning fat. With this being the primary goal of a cutting workout, the results are highly dependant on one's diet and nutrition plan. As with any workout routine , how much progress you make, and how quick you make it is going to depend on things other than just the routine such as diet and nutrition , rest and recovery , supplementation , and as always, genetics. With other variables aside, this cut workout can yield great results in dropping body fat, maintaining and possibly gaining lean muscle.

Cutting essentially is not associated with increasing muscle mass. This is because in order to lose fat you must have a lower caloric intake level, whereas while bulking or trying to increase muscle mass, you generally have a higher caloric intake level. So how can one maintain muscle mass while cutting? By continuing to perform workouts at high intensity and getting the most out of every rep, trying to keep optimal protein intake at about 0.

With that being said, results can be shocking if proper training, cardio, diet, and supplementation are all combined. The biggest drawback while cutting tends to be the loss of, or inability to gain, strength and lean muscle mass. Simply put, you need higher calories to build muscle, and you need fewer calories to burn fat and get cut. While cutting you generally have less calories and less carbs which makes muscle building much more difficult.

This can be combated to an extent with the help of higher protein intake, intense workouts, and the supplementation of products that include BCAAs or EAAs. Another downside to cutting is a lack of energy. Since you generally are eating less, or at least in smaller portions, you are not getting the same amount of carbs and calories required for optimal performance.

On top of the calorie deficit, during a cut, usually cardio plays a large roll, and depending on the intensity of the cardio, it can be very taxing on the CNS, which leads to constant fatigue and over training. I personally tend to gain fat quicker than the average person; therefore I always try my best to do my part to keep fat gain down all year. As summer nears I always go ahead with a full-blown cut in order to look my best for summer. This year I started my cut towards the end of March since I had extra work this year.

My winter training resulted in a larger amount of fat gain after being sidelined with a broken ankle , so I decided to start my cut early and get back to where I need to be.

The timing that one starts to cut should be decided by personal goals and where they want to be in comparison to where they are. This is not great by any means but I made some pretty foolish mistakes which I have learned to rectify.

Furthermore, over the course of this workout I have gained strength and even look a bit bigger in some body parts. Please remember to push yourself to the max in each workout and try to have a spotter to help you get the required reps even with an increase in weight.

Well for the first 8 weeks you need to train a minimum of 3 times a week. Ideally you should do 4. Remember to use proper form and intensity; make sure you have a spotter on hand to help you get the extra reps. Make sure you rest around 45 seconds between each set. Each workout should last around 50 minutes, to give optimal hormone surges. For abdominal exercises you can change the Friday session once every 2 weeks to a grueling abs session.

This abs session will be posted at the end. On all chest exercises alternate between Dumbbells and Bars. For the first 6 weeks use bars then go to dumbbells. Well done! So this time you want switch about your rest times to around 2 minutes seconds and your reps to , with 2 sets per exercise, and make sure above all you go as HEAVY as you possibly can for at least 4 reps on each exercise. Remember to use strict form as well. Each workout should last around 50 minutes again for optimal hormone surges.

Remember also to warm up each body part once and only once to get the blood flowing so that maximum effort and weight can be applied. For the first 4 weeks use bars then go to dumbbells. This is the extra day that you can choose to dismiss This can also be swapped for the abdominal session below.

Try to keep it as low as possible and only do it on non-workout days, preferably in the evening to speed up the slow afternoon metabolism. Keep it clean with lots of protein , good fats and complex carbs.

Make sure every week you assess your progress and decrease your daily calories by around each day. This process is steady and slow. But it works. During this workout you can expect to lose fat and gain strength. With the correct calorie intake you can even slightly increase the visual size of your muscles. You will also increase definition. Make sure you log all lifts so that you can try to improve each week, remember every workout must be treated with full intensity especially after the first 8 weeks.

It is coming up to the end of my 1st year of bodybuilding in September I really only properly started in January so I think I'll bulk now until next summer with good clean weight then cut.

View The Other Responses! View This Week's Topic. Workout of the Week is where forum members are asked to answer questions about what they think the best workouts are. View all articles by this author. The Question: Those who have put on enough muscle over the winter are looking to get 'cut' for the summer.

A good aiming point for the cutting phase is to lose 0. Any more and you may actually be losing too much weight, too fast, which can result in losing both muscle and fat. Remember, the more time you have to cut weight, the more muscle you can typically preserve. Often, increased frequency number of training sessions a week can help lifters burn more calories, keep metabolism high, and enhance recovery from said training sessions. I suggest most lifters choose a day workout split when cutting.

My go-to splits are either a 4-day upper, lower, upper, lower split or a 5-day split that has a lifter training most muscle groups at least twice per week. Adding some low-intensity cardio can also be incorporated in the split if you need to burn a few more calories, however, cardio IS not necessary for some people although burning even calories from minutes of walking after a workout can make a huge difference in being able to eat calories more per day and still lose fat.

Preserving muscle mass is key during a cutting phase. Compound movements , ones that stress high amounts of muscle tissue are often used as pillars in any strength training program, with the cutting programs being no different. As you can see in the sample program below, the movements used during the cutting phase may mirror those used during the bulking phase. It is important to remember that unlike the bulking phase, recovery may be slightly inhibited due to the stress of being in a caloric deficit.

Therefore, individuals must be sure to listen to their bodies and not push too hard so that they can still focus on lifting heavy ish , doing the movements with proper technique, and not add too much stress to an already metabolically stressful event cutting.

Check out our article on using Squats For Weight Loss. Despite what many novices and even some strength coaches believe , lifting heavy is still an essential part to cutting. Lifting heavy, relatively speaking, is ideal for preserving strength and muscle mass during the cutting phase.

While this is better than not lifting, this can lead to some muscle loss. Instead, choose rep ranges for some movements like the compound lifts in the lower-moderate rep range to preserve some strength and muscle mass, and others in higher reps range to diversify your overall success.

As discussed above, losing up to 0. Simply cut out the excessive cardio or add some more food back into the diet until you fall back within the safe weight loss zone for cutting.